A federal judge has denied a motion by a spokesman for former President Donald Trump to have his bank records returned by the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Obama-appointed Judge James Boasberg denied the motion on Thursday, saying that he is constitutionally barred from directing members of Congress from turning over the documents.
“There really is no question that this Court has no jurisdiction to order Congress under the Speech or Debate Clause to return documents that it has received,” Judge Boasberg said, according to The Hill.
Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich sued the committee last month after he learned that the committee had issued a subpoena directly to his bank, JP Morgan Chase, for the release of his bank information.
He later learned that the bank had already turned over his records before he filed his case, and amended his complaint to have the committee turn over the records, and strike them from their investigation.
The decision marks a second legal victory for the committee this week, after the Supreme Court denied Mr. Trump’s appeal to block the release of White House documents to the panel.
Mr. Budowich accused JPMorgan Chase and its legal counsel, former Obama administration Attorney General Loretta Lynch, of colluding with the committee to deny him a legal challenge to the subpoena.
He said he was given just hours to respond in court after becoming aware of the subpoena, and accused the bank and the committee of working together to ensure he was unable to object to the subpoena.
“What is happening to me through this process should not happen to any American. It is an affront to my individual rights and the Constitution,” he said last month. “I will continue to fight for both.”
Judge Boasberg scheduled a follow-on hearing for later this month to discuss the next steps in the case.
